RAF Lossiemouth will be the main air base of operations for the land based air assets, with RAF Leuchars as the secondary land base. The air assets confirmed to be involved in Joint Warrior Spring 2014 are these units and/or aircraft:

Also dubbed ‘Poseidon Lite’ the adapted bizjet is meant for naval forces who don’t have the cash to afford themselves a full-scale P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, but like to have some similar capabilities capabilities in a jet powered aircraft for search and rescue, anti-piracy, coastal patrol and border security.

Field Aviation conducted the first four-hour flight. Field Aviation is the Boeing Phantom Works partner that modified the Challenger 604s structure and systems.

Additional airworthiness flights are scheduled for the next two months. Once they are complete, the aircraft will fly to a Boeing facility in Seattle where the MSA mission systems will be installed and tested. Those P-8A based technologies include an Active Electronically Scanned Array multi-mode radar, an Electro/Optical/Infrared sensor, Electronic Support Measures, a Communications Intelligence sensor and Automated Identification System.

“These state-of-the-art aircraft will dramatically boost Australia’s ability to monitor its maritime approaches and patrol over 2.5 million square kilometres of our marine jurisdiction – an area equating to nearly 4 per cent of the world’s oceans”, writes a government spokesperson in a press release.

The first aircraft will be delivered in 2017, with all eight aircraft fully operational by 2021. The Government has also approved an option for a further four aircraft subject to the outcomes of the Defence White Paper review.

Australia will augment the Poseidons with high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles. The P-8A will in Royal Australian Air Force service conduct search and rescue, anti-submarine and maritime strike missions using torpedoes and Harpoon missiles. The acquisition of the eight P-8A aircraft will cost approximately US$4 billion, including support facilities.

Modernising the RAAF
Australia is modernising its air assets over the last decade creating one of the most modern air forces worldwide. The orders/deliveries to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) since the beginning of the century include 5 Airbus KC-30A MRTT tanker/transport aircraft, 6 E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C), 14 Lockheed F-35A Lightning IIs with a requirement for 58 of these 5th generation multi-role fighters, 24 Boeing F/A-18EF Super Hornet multi-role fighters, 12 Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, 10 Alenia Aermacchi/L-3 C-27J Spartan to complement the six C-130J Hercules tactical airlifters, 6 Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifters, 3 CL-604 Challenger VIP-jets and 2 Boeing 737 Business Jets (BBJ).

Navy/Army
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has 24 Sikorsky MH-60R Sea Hawk maritime helicopters on order with three Bell 429 training/utility helicopters flying within the RAN since 2002. The RAN and the Royal Australian Army (RAA) also are to receive a combined total of 46 NH Industries MRH90 Taipan helicopters, with 6 for the Navy. The RAA is further getting seven new Boeing CH-47F Chinook medium-lift helicopters with the delivery of 22 Eurocopter Tiger ARH attack helicopters completed in 2011.

According to the leaked out report the plane’s radar, its sensor integration and data transfer are all showing huge flaws. Despite positive remarks by the USN 7th Fleet commander about the the P-8 being better than the old Lockheed P-3 Orion, the Pentagon top official seems a lot more skeptic.